U.S. patent number 7,436,310 [Application Number 11/392,296] was granted by the patent office on 2008-10-14 for patch panel cover mounted antenna grid for use in the automatic determination of network cable connections using rfid tags.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Lucent Technologies Inc.. Invention is credited to Michael E Flaster, Clifford E Martin, Wee Teck Ng, Cuong Tran.
United States Patent |
7,436,310 |
Flaster , et al. |
October 14, 2008 |
Patch panel cover mounted antenna grid for use in the automatic
determination of network cable connections using RFID tags
Abstract
An RF antenna grid design in which the antenna array is
installed on a patch panel cover allows for the retrofitting of an
RF antenna grid on existing patch panel based systems without
disrupting network operation. An apparatus for determining
connectivity between device ports on a patch panel and cable ends
having corresponding RFID tags attached thereto comprises a patch
panel having a plurality of device ports and a patch panel cover
comprising a plurality of RFID antennas, where each of the RFID
antennas comprises one or more protruding portions thereof, each of
the protruding portions of the RFID antennas being in close
physical proximity to one or more of the plurality of device ports
when the patch panel cover is positioned in a fixed positional
relationship to the patch panel (e.g., when the patch panel cover
is "attached" to the patch panel).
Inventors: |
Flaster; Michael E (Tenafly,
NJ), Martin; Clifford E (Martinsville, NJ), Ng; Wee
Teck (Berkeley Heights, NJ), Tran; Cuong (Howell,
NJ) |
Assignee: |
Lucent Technologies Inc.
(Murray Hill, NJ)
|
Family
ID: |
38574653 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/392,296 |
Filed: |
March 29, 2006 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20070236355 A1 |
Oct 11, 2007 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
340/572.8;
340/572.1; 340/686.1; 340/687; 439/488 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01Q
1/2208 (20130101); H01Q 1/2216 (20130101); H04Q
1/149 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G08B
13/14 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;340/10.31,10.1,10.32,10.52,10.42,572.8,572.1,572.6,686.1,687,568.1,568.2
;439/488,49,607 ;235/451,385,375,435 ;343/853,893 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: La; Anh V
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Brown; Kenneth M.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A patch panel cover for use in determining connectivity between
one or more device ports comprised in a patch panel and one or more
cable ends having corresponding RFID tags attached thereto, the one
or more cable ends being connected to corresponding ones of said
one or more device ports of said patch panel, the patch panel cover
being a separate and distinct element from said patch panel and
being attachable to and detachable from said patch panel, the patch
panel cover comprising a plurality of RFID antennas, each of said
RFID antennas comprising one or more protruding portions thereof,
each of said protruding portions of said RFID antennas being in
close physical proximity to one or more of said plurality of device
ports when said patch panel cover is positioned in a fixed,
predefined relationship to said patch panel.
2. The patch panel cover of claim 1 wherein said device ports of
said patch panel are arranged in a substantially rectangular
arrangement comprising a plurality of rows of said device ports and
a plurality of columns of said device ports, wherein said plurality
of RFID antennas comprises a plurality of row antennas and a
plurality of column antennas, wherein each of said row antennas is
in close physical proximity to each of said device ports in a
corresponding one of said rows of said device ports when said patch
panel cover is positioned in said fixed, predefined relationship to
said patch panel, and wherein each of said column antennas is in
close physical proximity to each of said device ports in a
corresponding one of said columns of said device ports when said
patch panel cover is positioned in said fixed, predefined
relationship to said patch panel.
3. The patch panel cover of claim 2 wherein each of said column
antennas comprises a single protruding portion thereof, said single
protruding portion having two ends and a shape substantially
equivalent to that of a letter "U", wherein said two ends of said
single protruding portion are attached to said patch panel cover at
a top portion and a bottom portion, respectively, thereof.
4. The patch panel cover of claim 2 wherein each, of said row
antennas comprises a plurality of protruding portions thereof, each
of said plurality of protruding portions having two ends and a
shape substantially equivalent to that of a letter "U", said
plurality of protruding portions connected in series such that at
least one of said ends of each of said protruding portions is
attached to an end of another one of said protruding portions.
5. The patch panel cover of claim 4 wherein each of said column
antennas comprises a single protruding portion thereof, said single
protruding portion having two ends and a shape substantially
equivalent to that of a letter "U", wherein said two ends of said
single protruding portion are attached to said patch panel cover at
a top portion and a bottom portion, respectively, thereof.
6. The patch panel cover of claim 5 wherein each protruding portion
of each of said column antennas has a middle portion between its
two ends and each of said plurality of protruding portions
comprised in each of said row antennas has a middle portion between
its two ends, wherein said middle portion of said protruding
portion of each of said column antennas is in close physical
proximity to each of said device ports in said corresponding one of
said columns of said device ports when said patch panel cover is
positioned in said fixed, predefined relationship to said patch
panel, and wherein said middle portions of each of said protruding
portions of each of said row antennas is in close physical
proximity to a corresponding one of said device ports in said
corresponding one of said rows of said device ports when said patch
panel cover is positioned in said fixed, predefined relationship to
said patch panel.
7. The patch panel cover of claim 6 wherein the middle portions of
each of said protruding portions of each of said row antennas is
twisted by an amount approximately equal to 90 degrees, such that
the middle portion of each of said protruding portions of each of
said row antennas is substantially parallel to the middle portion
of a corresponding one of said protruding portions of one of said
column antennas.
8. The patch panel cover of claim 2 further comprising an antenna
selector connected to each of said plurality of row antennas, the
antenna selector for selecting one of said plurality of row
antennas at a time for sensing RFID information therefrom.
9. The patch panel cover of claim 8 further comprising an RFID
reader connected to said antenna selector, the RFID reader for
reading said RFID information from one of said row antennas.
10. The patch panel cover of claim 9, wherein the antenna selector
comprises a dual switch arrangement to reduce antenna coupling
effects between said plurality of row antennas.
11. An apparatus for use in determining connectivity between one or
more device ports and one or more cable ends having corresponding
RFID tags attached thereto, the apparatus comprising: a patch
panel, the patch panel comprising one or more of said device ports,
one or more of said cable ends being connected to corresponding
ones of said one or mare device ports of said patch panel, a patch
panel cover, the patch panel cover positioned in a fixed,
predefined relationship to said patch panel, the patch panel cover
comprising a plurality of RFID antennas, each of said RFID antennas
comprising one or more protruding portions thereof, each of said
protruding portions of said RFID antennas being in close physical
proximity to one or more of said plurality of device ports, the
patch panel cover being a separate and distinct element from said
patch panel and being attachable to and detachable from said patch
panel.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said device ports of said
patch panel are arranged in a substantially rectangular arrangement
comprising a plurality of rows of said device ports and a plurality
of columns of said device ports, wherein said plurality of RFID
antennas comprises a plurality of row antennas and a plurality of
column antennas, wherein each of said row antennas is in close
physical proximity to each of said device ports in a corresponding
one of said rows of said device ports, and wherein each of said
column antennas is in close physical proximity to each of said
device ports in a corresponding one of said columns of said device
ports.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein each of said column antennas
comprises a single protruding portion thereof, said single
protruding portion having two ends and a shape substantially
equivalent to that of a letter "U", wherein said two ends of said
single protruding portion are attached to said patch panel cover at
a top portion and a bottom portion, respectively, thereof.
14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein each of said row antennas
comprises a plurality of protruding portions thereof, each of said
plurality of protruding portions having two ends and a shape
substantially equivalent to that of a letter "U", said plurality of
protruding portions connected in series such that at least one of
said ends of each of said protruding portions is attached to an end
of another one of said protruding portions.
15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein each of said column antennas
comprises a single protruding portion thereof, said single
protruding portion having two ends and a shape substantially
equivalent to that of a letter "U", wherein said two ends of said
single protruding portion are attached to said patch panel cover at
a top portion and a bottom portion, respectively, thereof.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein each protruding portion of
each of said column antennas has a middle portion between its two
ends and each of said plurality of protruding portions comprised in
each of said row antennas has a middle portion between its two
ends, wherein said middle portion of said protruding portion of
each of said column antennas is in close physical proximity to each
of said device ports in said corresponding one of said columns of
said device ports, and wherein said middle portions of each of said
protruding portions of each of said row antennas is in close
physical proximity to a corresponding one of said device ports in
said corresponding one of said rows of said device ports.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the middle portions of each
of said protruding portions of each of said row antennas is twisted
by an amount approximately equal to 90 degrees, such that the
middle portion of each of said protruding portions of each of said
row antennas is substantially parallel to the middle portion of a
corresponding one of said protruding portions of one of said column
antennas.
18. The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising an antenna
selector connected to each of said plurality of row antennas, the
antenna selector for selecting one of said plurality of row
antennas at a time for sensing RFID information therefrom.
19. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising an RFID reader
connected to said antenna selector, the RFTD reader for reading
said RFII) information from one of said row antennas.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the antenna selector
comprises a dual switch arrangement to reduce antenna coupling
effects between said plurality of row antennas.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID) systems and more particularly to
the use of RFID techniques for the automatic determination of
network cable connections.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The management of complicated networks such as telecommunications
networks or sophisticated computer networks is tremendously
expensive. A substantial portion of this cost arises from
incomplete, incorrect or ambiguous knowledge about a network. For
example, a telecommunications network operator may not have an
accurate record of how network switches are configured, leading to
failed attempts to fix problems or provision new services. This
lack of knowledge can in some instances be remedied by polling the
networking equipment to determine its actual settings.
However, a more fundamental ambiguity arises at the physical level
of network cable management. Network cables may be added, removed
or moved by support personnel for a variety of reasons, often to
solve urgent problems. However, it is very difficult to maintain an
accurate record of exactly which cable is connected to which port
of a given piece of equipment (e.g., a patch panel of a
telecommunications switch), since the cables may so easily be
connected, disconnected, and reconnected.
Typically, network cable locations and connections are tracked
manually, by, for example, putting printed tags on each cable,
storing the tag-to-cable mappings in a database, and then
attempting to manually keep the database up to date. In addition,
physical inventories of network offices, in which the cables are
identified, tagged and mapped, are themselves typically performed
manually. In a large telecommunications or computer network system,
it is an extremely expensive proposition to keep track of every
cable, where it is, where it runs, and which port on a given piece
of equipment it is plugged into. As a result, equipment inventory
databases are notoriously inaccurate, and the negative results
include, inter alia, loss of network capacity, increased service
times and a much greater chance of disruptive service errors. Thus,
it would be highly advantageous if there were an automated
mechanism able to identify the connections between cables and
equipment ports of a given piece of equipment such as, for example,
a patch panel of a telecommunications switch.
One approach is to use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
systems for the automatic determination of cable connections, by
employing RFID tags on both cable ends and equipment ports,
determining each of their respective locations (with use of one or
more RFID sensing devices), and then determining the physical
proximity therebetween. Based on this determined physical
proximity, juxtaposition (e.g., a connection) between the cable and
the port can be determined. This approach is described in detail in
U.S. Pat. No. 6,847,856, "Method For Determining Juxtaposition Of
Physical Components With Use of RFID Tags" by Philip L. Bohannon,
issued Jan. 25, 2005 and commonly assigned to the assignee of the
present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 6,847,856 is hereby incorporated
by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Another approach to the use of Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID) systems for the automatic determination of cable connections
might comprise the use of RFID tags on each cable end and a single,
independent receiver (e.g., antenna) at (or near to) each device
port. Then, the specific cable end that is connected to each device
port (if any) can be advantageously determined by merely reading
the ID value of the connected cable end. This, however, might be
prohibitively expensive. (As is familiar to those of ordinary skill
in the art, whereas RFID tags are extremely inexpensive, RFID
readers are typically not so inexpensive.)
A better approach is to use an RF antenna grid, employed on a
device having a plurality of device ports (e.g., cable end
connection points), which may, for example, be physically organized
in a two-dimensional rectangular arrangement. (As used herein, a
"device port" is any physical receptacle into which an end of a
cable may be connected. The receptacle and cable may, for example,
be adapted to carry electrical or optical signals, but they are not
necessarily limited thereto. Also as used herein, the term "antenna
grid" is not meant to imply any particular arrangement of antennas
or device ports to which it is employed, but rather represents any
antenna arrangement in which either multiple device ports are
associated with a given RFID antenna and/or in which two or more
distinct antennas are associated with a given device port.) In
particular, each of the RFID antennas may be advantageously located
on the device such that it is in close physical proximity to each
of two or more device ports. (As used herein, the term "close
physical proximity" between an RFID antenna and a device port is
defined by the ability of the RFID antenna to sense the presence of
an RFID tag attached to a cable end which has been plugged into the
device port when directed to do so by an RFID reader.)
This is the approach employed in co-pending U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 10/812,598, "Method And Apparatus For The Automatic
Determination Of Network Cable Connections Using RFID Tags And An
Antenna Grid," filed on Mar. 30, 2004 by Clifford E. Martin
(hereinafter, "Martin") and commonly assigned to the assignee of
the present invention. In particular, Martin discloses a method and
apparatus whereby an RF antenna grid is advantageously employed on
a device (e.g., a patch panel) having a plurality of device ports
(e.g., cable connection points) which may, for example, be
physically organized in a two-dimensional rectangular arrangement.
Then, when RFID tags have been fixed to one or more cable ends, it
can advantageously be determined which of the one or more cables
are connected to which of the device ports on the patch panel. The
RF antenna grid may comprise a plurality of individual antennas
which are advantageously multiplexed such that a single RFID reader
can handle the sensing for all antennas. U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 10/812,598 is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully
set forth herein.
Although the RF antenna grid design described in Martin solves the
problem of automatically determining network connections, that
approach cannot be easily employed with respect to existing patch
panel systems used in current telecommunications networks without
disrupting network operations. In particular, such a design may
require the forklift replacement of existing patch panels with
electronic switches or proprietary patch panels. Such an approach,
which requires a retrofitting of major telecommunications equipment
components can prove to be quite costly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
We have recognized that an RF antenna grid design in which the
antenna array is installed on a patch panel cover, rather than on
the patch panel itself, advantageously allows for the retrofitting
of an RF antenna grid on existing patch panel based systems without
disrupting network operation. In accordance with the principles of
the present invention, therefore, an apparatus for determining
connectivity between one or more device ports thereof and one or
more cable ends having corresponding RFID tags attached thereto
comprises a patch panel having a plurality of device ports and a
patch panel cover comprising a plurality of RFID antennas, where
each of the RFID antennas comprises one or more protruding portions
thereof, each of the protruding portions of the RFID antennas being
in close physical proximity to one or more of the plurality of
device ports when the patch panel cover is positioned in a fixed
positional relationship to the patch panel (e.g., when the patch
panel cover is "attached" to the patch panel).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows an example of a patch panel having cable ends with
RFID tags attached thereto, the cable ends plugged into patch panel
device ports, the patch panel for use with a patch panel cover in
accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 2 shows a patch panel cover having an RF antenna grid for use
in the automatic determination of network cable connections
according to one illustrative embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 3 shows the patch panel cover of FIG. 2 affixed to the patch
panel of FIG. 1 in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of
the present invention.
FIG. 4 shows an illustrative antenna selector configuration which
may be used for selecting the sensing of one of a plurality of
antennas of the patch panel cover of FIG. 2 in accordance with one
illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a sample method for the automatic
determination of network cable connections in accordance with an
illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, an RF
antenna grid array is installed on a patch panel cover in such a
manner as to enable the sensing of RFID tags attached to cable ends
which have been plugged into device ports on a patch panel, when
the patch panel cover is affixed to the patch panel. In particular,
the RF antennas advantageously comprise protruding portions thereof
to enable such sensing of the RFID tags. Note that as used herein,
the term "patch panel" encompasses any physical object which
comprises a plurality of device ports, each of which is capable of
having a cable end attached thereto; and the term "patch panel
cover" encompasses any physical object which is capable of being
physically attached or connected to a patch panel.
In accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the invention, a
patch panel comprising a rectangular array of device ports has a
patch panel cover attached thereto, wherein a RF antenna grid
comprising a plurality of row antennas and a plurality of column
antennas is installed on the patch panel cover. In particular, in
accordance with this illustrative embodiment of the invention, each
of the column antennas advantageously protrude from the cover in a
large (e.g., wide) "U" shape, with the ends of the "U" shaped
antenna being attached at a corresponding top and bottom portion of
the cover, respectively, such that each of the given column
antennas are in close proximity to each device port in a given
column of the patch panel's device ports when the cover is affixed
to the patch panel. In addition, in accordance with this
illustrative embodiment of the invention, each of the row antennas
advantageously comprises a series of protruding portions, each
protruding portion protruding from the cover in a small (e.g.,
narrow) "U" shape which is advantageously twisted, by an amount
approximately equal to 90 degrees, to be parallel to the column
antennas, such that each protruding portion is in close proximity
to a device port in a corresponding row of the patch panel's device
ports when the cover is affixed to the patch panel; and moreover,
such that each of the given row antennas is in close proximity to
each device port in the given row of the patch panel's device ports
when the cover is affixed to the patch panel.
The twisted "U" shape design of the illustrative embodiment of the
present invention advantageously minimizes contact with existing
cables, advantageously extends the detection range of the row
antennas, and advantageously aligns the row antennas with the
column antennas so as to enable the detection of RFID tags oriented
parallel to the column and row antennas. In accordance with certain
illustrative embodiments of the present invention, the detection
range of the antennas may be advantageously tuned so that a single
column or row of RFID tags may be detected. For example, in
accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the invention, the
detection range may be adjusted by varying the power supplied to
the antennas, shaping the antennas to focus the antenna detection
field onto the tags, and taking advantage of well-known antenna
coupling effects.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a patch panel having cable ends with
RFID tags attached thereto, the cable ends plugged into patch panel
device ports, the patch panel for use with a patch panel cover in
accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present
invention. The illustrative patch panel (i.e., patch panel 11), as
shown in the figure, comprises a rectangular array of device ports
12 (i.e., jacks), some of which have corresponding cable ends 13
(i.e., plugs) terminating corresponding cables 14. Each cable end
13 has attached thereto a corresponding RFID tag 15.
FIG. 2 shows a patch panel cover having an RF antenna grid for use
in the automatic determination of network cable connections
according to one illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
The illustrative patch panel cover (i.e., patch panel cover 21), as
shown in the figure, comprises a plurality of column antennas 22
and a plurality of row antennas 23. In accordance with the
illustrative embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG.
2, each of the column antennas advantageously protrude from the
cover in a large "U" shape, with the ends of the "U" shaped
antennas being attached at a corresponding top and bottom portion
of the cover, respectively, as described above. In addition, in
accordance with this illustrative embodiment of the invention as
shown in FIG. 2, each of the row antennas advantageously comprises
a series of protruding portions, each protruding portion protruding
from the cover in a "U" shape which is advantageously twisted to be
parallel to the column antennas, as described above.
FIG. 3 shows the patch panel cover of FIG. 2 affixed to the patch
panel of FIG. 1 in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of
the present invention. When the patch panel cover of FIG. 2 (i.e.,
patch panel cover 21) is affixed (e.g., in a fixed, predetermined
positional relationship) to the patch panel of FIG. 1 (i.e., patch
panel 11), each one of column antennas 22 is advantageously in
close proximity to each device port in a corresponding column of
the patch panel's device ports. (A portion of patch panel cover 21
is shown in "cut-away.") Similarly, when the patch panel cover of
FIG. 2 (i.e., patch panel cover 21) is affixed (e.g., in the fixed,
predetermined positional relationship) to the patch panel of FIG. 1
(i.e., patch panel 11), each one of row antennas 23 is
advantageously in close proximity to each device port in a
corresponding row of the patch panel's device ports. In particular,
each protruding portion of a given row antenna is in close
proximity to a corresponding one of the device ports located in the
corresponding row of the patch panel's device ports.
FIG. 4 shows an illustrative antenna selector configuration which
may be used for selecting the sensing of one of a plurality of
antennas of the patch panel cover of FIG. 2 in accordance with one
illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The illustrative
antenna selector of FIG. 4 advantageously eliminates antenna
coupling effects with use of a simple on-off switch. As can be seen
from the figure, this switch may be advantageously integrated with
an antenna selector/multiplexer with minimal cost by using a dual
switch.
In particular, the illustrative antenna selector configuration of
FIG. 4 comprises an antenna selector/decoupler 41, advantageously
implemented as a dual switch, which is connected to RFID reader 42,
via one of the dual switch paths, and to grounded inductor 43
(i.e., "L"), via the other one of the dual switch paths. In
addition, each of the multiple selector terminals of antenna
selector/decoupler 41 is connected to a corresponding one of the
(illustratively, three) row antennas (row antennas 44-1, 44-2 and
44-3, respectively), which are shown as being, in turn, connected
to grounded capacitors 45-1, 45-2 and 45-3, respectively. In
operation of the illustrative antenna selector configuration of
FIG. 4, each one of the plurality of row antennas 44 may be
individually selected for reading by RFID reader 42.
In accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the present
invention, it can also be easily determined (e.g., without
requiring a database lookup) that a given pair of device ports are
in fact connected to each other (by means of a cable). In a similar
manner to that of the technique described in Martin, if, as
described above, one end of each cable has been assigned a unique
even number as its ID value, while the other end of the
corresponding cable has been assigned the same number plus one as
its (unique) ID value, then by "masking off" the least significant
bit of the ID values which have been determined to be connected to
various device ports (i.e., subtracting one from the value if and
only if the value is odd), and by then testing each pair of such
"masked off" values for equality, it can be easily determined which
device ports are connected to each other without requiring a
database access to associate the opposing ends of a given cable
with one another.
FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a sample method for the automatic
determination of network cable connections in accordance with an
illustrative embodiment of the present invention. In flowchart
block 50, one of the column antennas is selected (e.g., with use of
the illustrative antenna selector shown in FIG. 4). Then, in block
51, the selected column antenna is pulsed (e.g., under control of
the illustrative RFID reader shown in FIG. 4) in order to identify
RFID tags (presumably attached to corresponding cable ends) which
are in close proximity to the selected column antenna and therefore
may be assumed to be connected to one of the device ports in the
given column. Next, in block 52, the ID values associated with the
identified RFID tags (i.e., those in close proximity to the
selected column antenna) are stored along with the associated
column number ("column#") of the selected column antenna. This
process (i.e., as performed in blocks 50-52) is repeated for each
column antenna until it is determined by decision block 53 that all
column antennas have been processed.
Once all of the column antennas have been processed, flowchart
block 54 selects one of the row antennas (e.g., with use of the
illustrative antenna selector shown in FIG. 4). Then, in block 55,
the selected row antenna is pulsed (e.g., under control of the
illustrative RFID reader shown in FIG. 4) in order to identify RFID
tags (presumably attached to corresponding cable ends) which are in
close proximity to the selected row antenna and therefore may be
assumed to be connected to one of the device ports in the given
row. Next, in block 56, the ID values associated with the
identified RFID tags (i.e., those in close proximity to the
selected row antenna) are stored along with the associated row
number ("row#") of the selected row antenna. This process (i.e., as
performed in blocks 54-56) is repeated for each row antenna until
it is determined by decision block 27 that all row antennas have
been processed.
Once all column antennas and all row antennas have been processed,
block 58 of the flowchart examines the data which has been stored
(in blocks 52 and 56) to find the associated row number and column
number of each identified RFID tag (i.e., associated with each
stored ID value). This identifies (by row number and column number)
the connected-to device port. (The cable end to which is attached
the RFID tag having the associated ID value is the cable end which
is connected to the identified device port.) In one illustrative
embodiment of the present invention, a database comprising
information relating cable identities to associated RFID tag ID
values may then be consulted to characterize the connection to the
given device port.
And finally, in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the
present invention (see description above) and as shown in block 59
of the flowchart of FIG. 5, for each connected-to device port, the
least significant bit (LSB) of the ID value of the RFID tag
connected thereto is masked. Then, by performing a pair-wise
comparison between these masked values, it can be easily determined
(e.g., without a database lookup) which pairs of device ports are
connected to one another.
Addendum to the Detailed Description
It should be noted that all of the preceding discussion merely
illustrates the general principles of the invention. It will be
appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise
various other arrangements, which, although not explicitly
described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention,
and are included within its spirit and scope.
For example, the use of the terms "row" and "column" with respect
to the RFID antennas of the illustrative embodiments of the present
invention described herein are intended herein to be arbitrary--any
spatial direction may be defined as a "row" and any other spatial
direction may be defined as a "column" within the meaning of the
terms as used herein. Moreover, there is no need for the antennas
(or the device ports that they monitor) of the present invention to
be arranged in a rectangular grid or, for that matter, in any
particular spatial organization whatsoever. Similarly, any
reference herein to a "top portion" or "bottom portion" of a patch
panel cover shall be understood to also be arbitrary with respect
to any particular spatial direction, and thus are to be understood
as representing opposing sides of such a patch panel cover without
regard to any particular direction or orientation.
Also, a "protruding portion" of an antenna having "a shape
substantially equivalent to that of a letter `U`" is intended to
include within its meaning any shape which has three substantially
linear portions (i.e., comprising an approximately straight line
segment), two of which are parallel to each other and the third of
which connects the other two at corresponding (i.e. rather than
opposite) ends thereof. In other words, any "U" shape, regardless
of how narrow or wide or short or tall, and regardless of the
curvature or lack thereof at the connecting points of the three
aforementioned linear portions thereof, is to be included within
the meaning of the phrase "a shape substantially equivalent to that
of a letter `U`" as used herein.
In addition, all examples and conditional language recited herein
are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical
purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the
invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to
furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without
limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions.
Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and
embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof,
are intended to encompass both structural and functional
equivalents thereof. It is also intended that such equivalents
include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents
developed in the future--i.e., any elements developed that perform
the same function, regardless of structure.
* * * * *